Darkened Hero
by Void7642
Summary: SatAM. Our Blue Blur has always been the Hero of Mobius and defender of Knothole. But our hedgehog discovers something dark lies within him, something he doesn't know if he can control. Will he keep hold on the darkness pressing him and still defend the home he loves or will it swallow him whole?
1. Chained

Authors Notes: Welcome everybody to a product of quite a lot of brainstorming. I've always felt good about my performance in the Oneshot department, even considering the many I haven't submitted. But, I found myself with such a plethora of ideas and a cool plot that almost entirely wrote itself. I had to give a longer Fic a shot and I know you're going to really enjoy it.

Only things to note are that the Freedom Fighters have some semblance of weaponry, similar to that of Robotnik's. This includes various forms of armor and laser style weapons but nothing further than what was displayed in SatAM from Robotnik.

Also, I obviously own nothing in relation to any of the characters that appear in this Fic.

* * *

Darkened Hero

* * *

Chained

With his signature grin plastered across his face, Sonic crossed his arms and leaned against the concrete wall. Foot tapping out a stiletto beat and emerald green eyes clasped shut in impatience, only one thought flooded the hedgehog's mind.

"Food." Barked the guard, keeping his voice low and firm. The wolf took a step out of the darkness surrounding Sonic's cell, revealing his enormous form.

His eyes flinging open, the hedgehog smirked. "I bet it's as terrible as always." Sonic said with a chuckle.

"Would you prefer not to eat?" The guard questioned, approaching the edge of the hedgehog's cell slowly, revealing a taunting grin.

Sonic's eyes darted to his feet, reminding himself he was chained to the wall, relinquishing any chance for payback.

"Alright, maybe it's not so bad." Sonic said with a hint of sarcasm, slowly walking toward the guard. Chains tightening around his ankles as he approached the edge of his tiny cell, Sonic reached through the bars for the tray of questionable food.

The guard scoffed and in one swift motion, slammed the tray into the floor, scattering it's contents. "Be careful who you mock hedgehog." The guard snarled, once again disappearing into the darkness.

Sonic let loose a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "Keep doing this to yourself hedgehog and you'll starve." He mumbled, coming to the realization that this was the fourth time this week he managed to get away from meal time without food and it was only Wednesday, or at least, he was pretty sure it was. With no clock or natural lighting, keeping track of time was almost impossible. If he was in a block of cells or able to see more than a foot outside his cell bars, he may have pieced together time based on prison activity. But this cell was specially made for him, and they were taking full advantage of his own impatience. The only constant he managed to find was the times he received food. It was always twice a day and Sonic assumed it was at the same time every day.

Taking one last longing look at the scraps of food, Sonic shook his head and sauntered back to his bed. Sitting on the edge of his less than comfortable mattress, the hedgehog once again found himself with nothing but his thoughts.

Despite his best efforts to avoid the subject, his mind eventually landed, once again, on his jail cell. He couldn't stand thinking about it, all he accomplished was going in circles. One minute he was fighting Robuttniks latest creation and the next he was in a now all too familiar room. No matter how many times he racked his brain about it, he couldn't remember anything else. No clue who captured him, no idea how long he might be down here and worst of all, no sense of what happened to Knothole. Naturally, he assumed the best had happened and despite his capture, ol' Buttnik was still as clueless as ever about his home's location. Better yet, the twenty-four hour mark to report back from a mission passed a couple days ago and the Blue Blur was confident a rescue team was well on it's way.

Even still, he couldn't help but worry a little.

What confused him most was the lack of the Big Dog himself. Robuttnik had never been the kind to keep his prisoners waiting, especially one he so greatly despised. Sonic smirked at the thought. But still the question scratched at the back of his mind. Knowing his captor, the oaf should have been down here within minutes of his capture, taunting him triumphantly all the while rambling on about his latest plan to finish his conquest of Mobius.

Yet, it never came. In fact, Buttnik's name hadn't so much as been hinted at. Also, since when had the cells in Robotropolis been constructed out of concrete and when did Buttnik start hiring non-robotocized Mobians to do his dirty work.

Some sort of new mind control, Sonic bargained. It wasn't completely out of the question. If the doctor managed to find a way to control robotocized Mobians then regular ones were probably just a small step up for him.

But if he really could take control of Mobians, how long until he snagged a stray Knothole citizen or even Freedom Fighter. Sonic winced at the thought, promptly standing and shaking his head from side to side.

This was why he hated thinking too long.

Attempting to remain free from his own mind, Sonic began pacing, chains rattling behind him. He took a deep breath, allowing nothing but the clanking of his own shackles to fill his mind, replacing all semblance of thought. Part of the hedgehog hated having to resort to this, especially just to keep himself safe from his own brain. But in reality he knew it was necessary, he had never been the most stable in situations involving patience.

Sure, he would normally crack a joke and shake it off but in this cell…

Gritting his teeth in frustration, the hedgehog leapt from the ground, grabbing hold of a ceiling bar with both hands. In one swift motion he pulled himself up, his head touching another ceiling bar. Slowly, he lowered himself back down, hanging from the bar before pulling himself up again. He continued this, pull-up after pull-up, first ten, then twenty and on. Finally the burning in his muscles forced him down, heart racing, breath quickening.

Wasting no time he dropped to the ground on his hands and feet, doing push-up after push-up.

"Hedgehog." The all too familiar voice of his cell guard growled.

"Sup big guy? Get bored?" Sonic replied, continuing his push-ups.

"What's your name?" The guard questioned, reluctance apparent in his voice.

Sonic nearly dropped straight to the ground in surprise but managed to hold on to a sliver of composure. What sort of game was he playing at? One of Robuttniks own minions couldn't possibly not know about priority numero uno.

"Robuttnik doesn't keep you guys very informed." Sonic said, shifting to his back and beginning sit-ups.

A long silence followed as Sonic continued his exercise routine. Just as he thought it had gone on too long, the guard spoke again.

"Either answer or don't hedgehog." The guard scoffed.

Sonic chuckled, sitting up and resting his arms on his knees.

"Yknow, enemy number one, priority one, blue streak." Sonic paused, noticing the look of confusion in the guards eyes. "Freedom Fighter secret weapon." The guard's eyes widened.

"You couldn't be…" The guard said, inching closer to Sonic's cell bars. His gaze traced every inch of the hedgehog, eyes going wide as saucers. "There's no way." He walked closer, practically pushing against the bars.

In an instant Sonic breached the distance between them, grabbing a hold of the guard by his uniform.

"Gotcha." The blue blur said with a smirk.

"Sonic." The guard stammered, all his fears realized.

Before Sonic had a chance to react the guard reached into his pocket, depressing a button on the small device within. This caused the entire cell to explode in blue light, sending jolts of electricity through Sonic's body.

Yelling in pain, the hedgehog quickly retracted his hand and fell to the ground writhing.

Depressing the button once more to shut off the defense mechanism, the guard took a shaky step back.

"You're supposed to be dead, demon." The guard said, voice still quivering.

All of the pain and concern in Sonic's body melted away in moments. Had he really heard that correctly? Ignoring his run in with his cell's defense system, he leapt to his feet.

"As if Robuttnik could take me out." Sonic yelled.

This was bad. What if Robotnik had convinced Knothole that he had been killed. No, they wouldn't believe the Big Guy no matter how hard he tried to convince them. But, if he couldn't convince the Freedom Fighters, why would he convince his own minions. That couldn't possibly benefit him, no matter which way Sonic looked at it.

"What does this have to do with Robotnik?" The guard shot back, regaining his composure. "Demon."

If Sonic thought he was confused before, now he was clueless. On top of that, what was with the demon thing.

"Who else would be trying to kill me?" Sonic said, folding his arms in front of him. "I mean if some other crazy fat guy is trying to take over Mobius, please let me know."

A brief silence passed between the two before the guard took another step toward the cell.

"Who wouldn't be trying to kill you, demon." The guard paused. "Especially after what you've done."

Sonic gripped his head in frustration. There were too many questions without answers. He couldn't remember how he got here, what happened to Knothole, what happened to the other Freedom Fighters and now this guy was sitting in front of him spouting this demon nonsense.

"All I've ever done is defend my home." Sonic said through gritted teeth. "Defend it against that tyrant Robotnik. I've spent my life fighting for the good of Mobius." His voice rose. "So why don't you tell me?"

"You call what you did, defending Mobius?" The guard yelled back, his voice raising above Sonic's. "You were supposed to be the one who defends us, but you turned on us. Showed us all who you really are, demon."

Maybe it was the empty days spent in an otherwise empty cell, the chilling fear for his home, the endless lack of answers with unease biting at his neck at every turn. Something in the hedgehog snapped, his anger bubbling quickly into fury.

"Don't stand here and insult me." He yelled, gripping the bars of his cell and looking straight into the guards eyes. "What have you done for Mobius or for Knothole?" He gripped the bars harder, pushing fiercely against them.

Instinctively the guard reached for his device, depressing the button and sending Sonic's cell into blue light once more. But to his surprise, the hedgehog stood unharmed against the bars, baring his teeth.

Sonic pushed harder, the cell audibly creaking at the incredible force. Panicked, the guard turned a knob on his device ramping up the energy behind the defensive mechanism. Yet, Sonic stood, completely unharmed.

"Did you give up your childhood to Robotnik?" The ground rumbled beneath Sonic, his hands giving off a black aura, the bars of his cell visibly bending.

The guard fumbled for his small weapon, leveling the blaster at Sonic and swiftly pulling the trigger. A beam of red light tore through the air, collided with the black aura around Sonic and dissipated harmlessly. Disbelieving, the guard fired several more shots, each one fizzling out before hitting it's mark.

Bits of concrete tore from the ground, levitating around the hedgehog, bars almost bent far enough for Sonic to walk through them.

"Sonic! Stop!" An all too familiar voice arced over the scene. The new figure exploded past the guard, planting themselves inches from the furious hedgehog. Sonic remained unphased, widening the bars further.

"Guard! Shut off the defense system." They commanded.

The guard remained motionless, mouth hung open.

"That's an order!" They yelled louder.

The guard's eyes flashed with recognition. "Y-yes Ma'am." He said, depressing the button.

As the blue light faded, she turned to face the enraged hedgehog. His once blue fur, flashing between black and dark blue, entire body glowing an eerie black, pupils turned pure black, teeth bared.

"Sonic." She said, her voice softening. "Everything's alright Sonic." She gently placed her hand on his.

For a moment the hedgehog gripped the bars harder, but in the next he froze, his black eyes staring into her deep blue ones. Time seemed to stop as she refused to break eye contact with him, tightening her grip on his hand.

"S-sal?" Sonic said, a voice deeper than his own speaking with a surreal echo.

His gaze shifted to the hand on his, then back to her, his pupils now returned to their emerald green hue.

"Wha." The hedgehog began, voice weak, fur reverting to blue, black aura fading. "What happened?"

Sally, breached the distance between them, crossing through the huge hole Sonic had left and wrapping him in an embrace.

"It's alright Sonic." She said, her voice even softer.

A chuckle tumbled from the hedgehog's lips before he slumped his head onto her shoulder and in an instant, fell asleep.

After taking a few more moments to be sure he was out, she ever so gently moved him to the sorry excuse for a mattress and released him to it, her wild pulse finally quieting.

With a deep breath, she reached her hand to her chest, allowing a moment to quell her shaking insides.

"That was…" The guard said, pausing in awe. "Amazing, Princess."

Despite what the guard expected, Sally Acorn furrowed her brow, clenched her fist and turned toward him.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" She said, her voice firm and filled with authority.

Stunned, the guard flicked his eyes from Sonic to her. "Guarding the prisoner." He said, before an angered expression made him continue. "I-I had no idea it was Sonic, we were never informed who we were guarding Princess."

She took a step toward him, allowing her boot to accentuate her anger. "Just how many blue hedgehogs are there?" She said, sarcasm lacing her voice.

"I.." The guard fumbled for an excuse. "I mean, after all that happened…"

In moments Sally's body visibly relaxed, her fist unclenching. This guard was clearly uninformed. "I see." She said under her breath.

If he didn't know anything it would be best to keep things that way.

"You were just doing your job Soldier and for that you have my thanks." She placed her hands on her hips, shifting her stance and closing her eyes. "It must have been pretty rough dealing with this."

The guard, now thoroughly confused, simply nodded. "Y-yes Ma'am." He said. "I've never seen such… power."

Sally shot him a smirk, before narrowing her eyes. "Yes." She said. "You should take the rest of the day off after going through something so stressful." Her eyes darted to Sonic, then back to the guard making her intent clear.

The guard contemplated challenging her request, but after seeing her bring down the demon, he decided this was out of his hands. "Yes, Ma'am." He said with a sharp nod, turning away from her.

"Princess." He called out, walking away from her. "I hope you know what you're doing."

She remained silent until she was sure he was gone, mentally noting how much easier that had gone than she planned.

Her gaze slowly traced over the sleeping hedgehog.

How was she going to explain this all to him?

* * *

Hopefully all of you enjoyed just a taste of what is to come. If you really like it or have ideas for how I could improve this writing or just want to make fun of my terrible editing, please leave a review.

I'm looking to have this updated once per week. I don't want to do it too quickly and sacrifice content. However, if I'm really feeling a certain chapter and want it to be really perfect, I might take two weeks.

Hope to see you at the next chapter!


	2. Alive

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or any of the characters that appear in this Fic.

* * *

Alive

"Aaaah!" Sonic screamed, sitting bolt upright. Chest thundering, his gaze swept the room in a panic, hoping, wishing, it all had been a dream. His heart fell into his stomach when he saw the mangled cell bars.

"Sonic!" came her voice, tearing through his fears. She wrapped two warm arms around him, enveloping his worries and pain.

"S-Sal?" Sonic stuttered, trying to get a grip on his frantic breathing. Endless questions assaulted him, his mind racing faster than his chest.

"Calm down Sonic, everything is alright now," Sally said, embrace tightening.

Sonic cautiously returned her embrace, a deep silence falling between them. With every shaky pant he thanked the heavens she was here.

What felt like hours passed between them, pounding in his center coming to a slow calm. His mind still ran with hundreds of scenarios for what occurred but they all paled compared to the comfort in knowing he'd be out of this crazy place soon.

"Sal," Sonic said softly, "tell me all that didn't happen."

Sally released the embrace, a warm smile at hearing his normal voice again.

Registering his question, she frowned, taking a seat on the mattress next to him. "Wish I could," she said, pursing her lips.

A chill ran up Sonic's spine, eyes flicking back to the mangled bars. The longer he stared at them, the more he knew it was his doing. But no matter which way he looked at it, he couldn't remember.

Another blank spot. Was he losing it?

When the guard wasn't around he tested many techniques on his indestructible cell and each one ended the same as the last. He'd tried everything all the way down to a painful attempt where he slammed into the bars at Sonic speed, resulting in knocking himself unconscious.

Yet, there lay the all but shattered pieces of metal.

"What the heck is going on?" Sonic said.

She went to speak, but the words caught in her throat. She looked to the bars, back to Sonic and furrowed her brow. Finally, she took a deep breath pulling all her strength together. He deserved to know, despite her aching heart.

"Sonic," Sally said, pausing. "Do you remember how you got in this cell?"

Sonic gave a swift shake of his head, pulse climbing again.

Her heart skipped a beat, concerned that might be the case.

"Last thing I remember is Ol' Robuttnik sent another one of his fancy Metal Heads into the Great Forest," Sonic said. "Of course the tin can was trying to find Knothole. So, I went out to give him a warm welcome."

The hedgehog took a moment, digging deeper into his mind. "We fought for a while, until someone showed up to back me up. I can't remember anything past that."

Sally's eyes went wide for a second. "You made the decision to face Robotnik's new mech head on," Sally began. "Whatever Robotnik created, it was able to imitate your speed and it was obvious that the only one capable of facing it was you."

Sonic nodded along, memory returning to his battle with the black robot.

"Three hours passed without a word from you and the Freedom Fighters agreed to send me in to back you up. Unfortunately." Sally paused. "Antoine got this bright idea in his head to come after you first, without telling the rest of us."

Sonic shot Sally a look of confusion. "You're kiddin me right?" he said with a chuckle. "You're tellin me Ant' actually decided to try and be the hero?"

Sally shrugged. "You weren't the only one who was surprised."

Sonic shook his head. "Well, what happened next? Can't have been good," Sonic said, smirking.

Sally sighed audibly. "Not good is an understatement," she said. "I eventually made it there after Antoine and the mech was successfully destroyed, but." She looked into Sonic's eyes. "He was hurt Sonic." She paused again. "Bad." Another pause, the events difficult for her to relive, lip quivering. "And you were… Different."

Sonic's stomach lurched, body tingling all the way to his fingertips.

"Y-You," Sally stammered, every piece of her telling her to stop. Her body screaming to forgo the strength she built up, insides churning in anxiety. "You." Her heart throbbed up into her throat. "You turned on us Sonic."

Sonic's eyes went wide, disbelieving. Panicked, he grabbed Sally's shoulder. "W-what do you mean?"

She held her ground. "After Antoine got hurt something changed," she said, hesitant, "your fur turned black and you were surrounded in this black aura." Her body shivered.

Sonic's gaze flicked to the bars, then to his hands. Another chill sent tingling numbness through him.

"You… attacked me," Sally continued, her heart knotting.

Sonic remained silent.

"Thankfully, I managed to evade you long enough for more backup to arrive. The rest of the Freedom Fighters and a few of the new recruits in training arrived to assist me." She swallowed hard. "We didn't stand a chance."

Sonic's pulse rose further, heart pounding wildly in his ears.

Somehow, Sally held on, pushing through the pain in Sonic's eyes. "We fell one by on to whatever had a hold of you." Sally brought a hand to her chest, eyes filling with tears as the memories surfaced. "I was the last of our squad left standing." She remembered the killing intent in those milky white eyes, she felt it all over.

"Luckily," she said with a shaky breath, "you lost consciousness right in front of me. Whatever had a hold of you left, your fur reverted color and you passed out."

Only one question overwhelmed Sonic's mind, his gut lurching as the words left his mouth. "Did I… Are they alright?"

A piece of her heart break for the Hero. "The entire Freedom Fighter squad is recovering and looking to come out of this without any scars." Sally paused, her body screaming in protest once again. "And almost all the recruits got away with only minor injuries and concussions. But," Sally choked on a sob, "one of them hasn't woken up yet. It's not looking good."

Terror racked Sonic to his core, burying his head in his hands. Tears poured from his eyes, body shaking.

His world shattered, every perception of himself as the Hero of Mobius fading into darkness. He saw images of himself fighting his own kind, hurting them, destroying them. Memories of his service to Knothole flashed, each one without meaning, each one empty in contrast to the evil he committed.

What was this thing hiding in him? Was he always a monster?

That's what put him and his dark half in the cell, he realized. The concrete walls, non-robotocized Mobian, lack of interaction with Robuttnik. He hadn't been brought down by the tin can or captured by Robotnik. This was a Knothole prison. His own kind threw him down here.

His fur flashed black, then blue, a faint trace of the familiar black aura covering him.

"Sonic!" Sally shouted, her heart screaming, "please no. No. Not again Sonic. Don't do this again." She grabbed his hand.

He never acknowledged her, his mind reliving more memories. Constant impatience and showboating, never spending a moment to think or make plans. Why was he so stupid? Were these just traits of something deeper?

Disdain of every Freedom Fighter rule and regulation. Inability to follow orders when he needed to or outright defiance of direct commands. Selfish.

Maybe he deserved this.

"Sonic!" she yelled louder, shaking him. "Sonic snap out of it."

He never heard her, his mind falling deeper into itself.

He'd spent most of his life fighting Robotnik and never made a lick of progress. The big guy still had control of Robotropolis, Uncle Chuck was still Robotocized and trapped in that mad house. Knothole remained hidden from the rest of the world.

What was the point anyway?

A fierce pulse of energy knocked Sally from the mattress into the concrete wall, hard. Pain erupted through her body but she ignored it, staring in awe at the dark hedgehog floating above the earth. Ground beneath him cracked at his presence, gusts of wind pulsed outward and a dark aura engulfed him.

He turned his milky white eyes to Sally.

Her whole body shook, images of the Freedom Fighters falling one by one to the dark power flashed.

"No! Sonic!" she screamed, voice quivering.

He floated forward stopping feet from her.

"S-Sonic?" she stammered.

Time froze, his fist reeled back, white eyes piercing into her with their empty gaze.

She didn't falter, heart thundering, terror overwhelming her. Even as Sonic began his strike, she didn't turn from him, staring straight into those white eyes.

A loud crack echoed, concrete exploding around Sonic's hand, his punch landing inches from her face.

She didn't look away.

The dark hedgehog froze, his eyes meeting hers, killing intent seething from him.

Sally watched in disbelief as his pupils returned. The once milky white eyes, filled with his emerald green ones.

Tears fell from the shattered hedgehog and ever so slowly, he collapsed to his knees.

"Sal," his broken voice begged, resounding with the echo of the dark within him. "I'm so sorry."

Fur reverting to blue, his aura faded, every trace of the evil in him subsiding.

Heart leaping into her throat, she grabbed him, pulling him close. He didn't resist, falling into her arms, limp and sobbing.

She'd never allow this to tear him apart. He was Knothole's hero, defender of Mobius, leader of the Freedom Fighters. He was her hero.

She gripped him tighter.

She had to get him out before he transformed again, she thought. This was the second time he reverted back to his dark self and if this prison impacted causing it to happen, they needed to leave. Not to mention the guards were unlikely to ignore them making that much noise twice.

"I don't know what to do Sal," said the fragmented voice of the blue blur.

Another blank spot in his memory added to his little pocket of insanity. What could have happened had he regained himself moments later, the hedgehog thought. Would he truly have ended Sal, just like that? He still felt its presence, nipping at the back of his neck. As though it was waiting for the moment he lost control, biding for the chance to take over.

"I need you to hold on Sonic," she said, her voice concerned but strong. "We need to get out of here first."

A firm grip on Sally's shoulder, he thrust her to the ground, lethal red light buzzing past his ear.

He couldn't catch a break.

"Soldier! What do you think you're doing?" Sally yelled, her authority returning.

Pushing away the darkness tearing at him, Sonic turned to see the smug grin of a too familiar wolf.

"Following orders Princess," he said, voice firm, leveling his blaster once more.

"Unless you want a repeat of last time," Sonic said, "I'd lower that thing."

The guard's eyes flashed with fear, before a smirk settled on his face.

"You're a traitor hedgehog," the guard said, "and I'm not about to let a traitor go free."

Sonic rose to his feet, mind screaming deep into his heart. How evil was he really? He had his own kind turn on him, imprison him and even threaten to end him.

"Stand down," she commanded, "or you'll regret it."

"I don't think so Princess," the guard retorted. "Did you really think you could storm into this prison and take Sonic of your own will? You overestimate your authority."

Sonic couldn't keep his thoughts in check, rubbing his temples. What if the dark came out again? Would he try to hurt Sally again? Would all Mobians treat him this way?

"Come on hedgehog," Sonic mumbled under his breath.

It took every bit of Sonic's combat experience to shove his frantic ideas down. This was looking to break into a fight and he would be useless if his head was wondering.

There'd be another time to figure this madness out.

A volley of laser fire erupted from the darkness behind the guard, streaking toward Sally. Sonic saw it, gripping her arm and dashing behind his mattress, flipping it on its' side. It was a lousy excuse for cover but it would buy him a few seconds.

"They've got backup," Sally yelled, tucking her head down and inwardly cursing. She never expected an ambush.

With a nod, Sonic glanced out from behind the mattress. He counted at least ten guards and they'd taken formation outside his only escape route. An idea sprung into his mind.

"Follow my lead," Sonic said.

A burst of lasers tore through the soft cotton of his mattress, sending it alight.

Fire spreading fast across the bed, Sonic gripped Sally's arm, braced himself and pressed against the cushion.

"Here goes nothing."


End file.
